With the world always having a country or two in rebellious uproar, there is always one denominator that seems to be the main cause: Money. You could see it in the Tunisian Revolution in late December 2010, the Egyptian Revolution in late January 2011, the ongoing Libyan Civil War that started in February, and the uprising in Syria that began in March.

The governments of these country had in one way or the other blocked certain rights of the citizens which led to mass protest. In some cases, like in Egypt, the main cause for protest revolved around a rise in poverty and massive unemployment. But what a lot of people focused on throughout the Arab Spring movement was that the citizens who revolted were those whose basic freedoms were being denied them.

In the previous dictatorial regimes, the ability to exersize freedom of speech has been seriously hampered by the authorities, blocking internet or social networking access. According to Dan Robles, founder of the Ingenesist Project and a blogger on several top social media communities, even though the regime in Egypt had a lot of money, oil, and guns, the Egyptian government was taken down by what he calls “social currency”.

Social currency, or ‘Rallods’ according to Robles, is “all value that is not directly articulated with Dollars.” This form of currency is regarded the most valuable and important form of currency that can be obtained in this world; however, you will never see it used in economic situations by the government.

According to Robles, a society cannot “try to produce an airplane, a sandwich, or a surgical procedure without intellect, creativity, compassion, empathy, ethics, social values, or community awareness”. Social currency is the only type of currency a community will essentially need in the production of anything of greater importance, and it could cause problems if it wasn’t included and drawn upon in the production process.

As seen in the recent uprisings and revolutions throughout the middle eastern world, the people have and are using their social currency in order to obtain the rights and freedoms that human being desires. Along with that, social currency is also helping citizens obtain the other forms of currency important for survival, money.

The challenge for the world, which could take some time, is to convey and utilise all forms of value in an economic system. According to Robles, this change in the economy is already underway and we will soon be able to exchange Rallods with Dollars every day. This could lead to countries with healthier economies — relying not only on contribution from the government, but from the people as well.
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About the author

Brian Anderson
I'm currently studying journalism at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. While I mainly cover sports such as Soccer and Ice Hockey, I also cover many stories regarding political and world news.